OLD News: State & West News

Loveland HOA forbids Little Free Library in yard

By Pamela Johnson

Loveland Reporter-Herald

Posted:
02/05/2018 07:47:51 PM MST

Updated:
02/05/2018 07:49:05 PM MST

Loveland resident Russell Sinnett said he was forced to remove his "Little Free Library" from his rental home in Alford Meadows after the architectural review committee of the neighborhood homeowners association first claimed he did not seek appropriate approval and then, when he filed the application, denied the request. Sinnett, a local attorney, decided not to pursue the matter in court. (Pamela Johnson / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Loveland resident Russell Sinnett poses with the doors of his dismantled "Little Free Library," which sits in pieces in his garage. Sinnett, who built the library to match his rental home in the Alford Meadows neighborhood, said his landlord approved the library, but the homeowners association said it was not allowed, as specified in the governing documents. (Pamela Johnson / Loveland Reporter-Herald)

Loveland resident Russell Sinnett believed he was building community spirit and a love of reading with a "Little Free Library" — which would have been the 12th registered in Loveland — until his homeowners association demanded he remove it from his yard.

In a letter from Trademark Property Management Group, representative David Rand informed Sinnett that the governing documents for Alford Meadows forbid an entire list of things such as storage buildings, fences, billboards, displays, greenhouses and more.

It does not specifically list a little library, but the letter states that these prohibitions are the reason he cannot have the library in his yard.

The neighborhood project review form outlines that the intent of the requirements is not to "hinder association members from freedom of choice" but to ensure their choices fit with the community and states: "An attractive and harmonious community is reflected in its property values."

"I rephrase that to say, 'Does it fit well within the character of the community?'" Sinnett said. "You bet it does."

Little Free Libraries come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and each, though unique, shares common goals of inspiring a love of reading and building community, according to the nonprofit network's website.

There are more than 50,000 of these registered worldwide, including 11 in Loveland.

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Sinnett's would have been No. 12, but instead it is now dismantled and in storage in his garage.

Rand, in the letter, offers Sinnett the option to move his library "to a common area where it would still remain in the community and accessible to residents." That location, Sinnett said, was outside a community pool less than two blocks away from its original location in his yard.

The letter did not detail why the library would be acceptable at the community location, and Rand did not respond to two phone calls from the Reporter-Herald seeking information on the library situation.

Sinnett, a lawyer, didn't want to give away his Little Free Library. Nor did he choose to go to court to fight the $300 in fines he has already been assessed or the denial of the library, though he thinks he would win, because of the possible court costs that ultimately would be passed on to the 388 homeowners within the neighborhood.

"My Little Free Library would become a $10,000 library that you own if you live in Alford Meadows, and everyone has a $26 stake in it," said Sinnett.

"I'm not going to make my neighborhood pay to make a point."

He said he put up the library in early November and, in less than 24 hours, a member of the neighborhood's architectural review committee was knocking on his door, saying there had been at least one complaint and informing Sinnett that he needed to ask for approval from the committee.

Sinnett, who said he had been unaware that he was required to seek approval for a tiny neighborhood library, submitted an application and design to the committee, to do things by the book. He was denied.

The letter, dated Jan. 10, says the library cannot be installed on any residential lot and demands immediate removal to avoid fines.

Sinnett said he was assessed $300 in fines before, on Jan. 27, he took down the library that he had carefully constructed and painted to match his home on Brandywine Drive.

The library, he said, had been widely used by many neighbors who both donated and borrowed books and now sits in pieces in his garage for at least the near future.

"It's going to stay there until we get a new board," said Sinnett.

This is the second controversy Sinnett has found himself in with the same homeowners association.

Though Sinnett did not file a lawsuit in his own case, he spoke about it publicly because he believes that the residents in the subdivision need to elect a new governing board.

The identities of the board members are not publicly available, so they were not contacted for this story.

"I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but this is the second time I've seen this HOA do something I don't think a court would sanction, and it's not right. ... It's not just my library. These people did it twice."

Loveland resident Russell Sinnett has a box of books near the curb of his Loveland home that neighbors donated to his "Little Free Library," which he says he was forced to remove by the neighborhood homeowners association. (Pamela Johnson / Loveland Reporter-Herald)